quietude

"the less of routine, the more of life." -- a. bronson alcott

no picture i could take would show how calm and peaceful the lake was monday night.  the main lake was dead calm and only jumping fish disturbed the serenity.  i could have kept paddling forever...

sentinel point

"anything for a quiet life; as the man said when he took the situation at the lighthouse." -- charles dickens

training for next month's race can be a bit grueling and involves quite a bit of solitude.  yesterday's round trip of red rock lake was about 25 miles and i managed to drop almost an hour from my last attempt with only a stop at the marina for a very short break.  overcast skies became today's rain which was welcomed by my parched lawn.  my new boat this year was a zero-turn mower which is easier to control than a rudderless craft with quartering winds.  life lately always seems to be a bit quartering as well so i'm getting used to correcting for outside forces.

sunlight

"do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen.  keep in the sunlight." -- benjamin franklin

a return to evening paddles was pure serenity last night with a calm whitebreast bay and steady east wind on the main lake.  i had the world, on the water, to myself...

out of focus

 "you can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -- mark twain

finally last weekend i managed enough time to crank out some mileage in preparation for next month's  NCC100.  saturday was a trip to the boxcars on the west end of the lake starting in dense fog early and yesterday was a beautiful breezy morning from whitebreast ramp to elk rock and back to the east loop.  i wish this fall-like weather would stay all year around.  my trusty old dagger continues to handle the miles... not fast, but dependable.  wish i could say the same thing about myself..

respite

'i heard the old, old men say "all that's beautiful drifts away, like the waters."' -- william butler  yeats

last saturday afternoon, after the nationals parade, and helping as soundman for The Retro Jukebox in the bandshell downtown, i ventured to the lake for a long workout run of about 25 miles.  starting at elk rock and making the west beach turn to painted rock left me a northern side route past the marina to the north overlook beach, where signs warned swimmers of contamination and ill advised swimming.  so much for these people sharing the beach with the gulls.  i continued across the dam to the south overlook and then west back to the van.  the shifting wind ended up from the north making for 7 miles of right-handed paddling.  when will i ever get a skeg?  even though the 6 hour trip seemed more than enough it was only a fourth of the NC100 next month. 

return to sanity

"thus sometimes hath the brightest day a cloud..." -- william shakespeare, henry VI

i've missed so many full moon paddles this year but managed to run the east loop long enough to catch this one over the dam last week.  with training starting in earnest for the NC100 i think i'll find a few more late nights soon.

the lake is so "thick" right now with high temps and algae you can almost "walk on water".  glad we got an inch yesterday.  the storm hit right as i was returning from cordova to elk rock bay and fighting the wind back to the beach was real work

i'm renaming my boat from the "rogue wave" to the "red garbage barge".  I even got another blue barrel to balance on the rear hatch and fill with prizes.  won't they ever stop to think what they are doing, tossing all the plastic?